A work machine, such as an off-highway truck, is designed perform various work operations at different locations within a work site. One such operation is the movement of material from a pit location to a processing location. As the work machine moves between various locations in a work site, the noise generated by the work machine may travel different distances depending on the surrounding geography. For example, while operating within the pit location, sound from the work machine is generally directed upwardly and away from a noise sensitive population center. On the other hand, in other locations in the work site, sound waves may propagate directly toward the population center. Thus, there is a need to operate the work machine in a reduced noise mode of operation in some locations, while also operating the work machine in a normal mode of operation in other locations, such as the pit location.
In addition, sound propagates through the atmosphere different distances depending on the time of day. Generally, during the day there is a higher level of background noise caused by various human activities, whereas during the night there is a lower level of background noise and any sound generated at night tends to be audible over a greater distance. A drawback to the different levels of background noise is that the locations where a normal mode of operation may be acceptable during the day may not be acceptable at night.
The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the above-mentioned drawbacks.